Due to scheduling conflicts and lack of interest, I won’t be playing on Monday night 2/25. Some part in me wants me to play but I am not fully into it. In my mind the winter Tennis season is over and it is time to focus for the spring. I may play one more session in the ladder but not sure when.
On Sunday I played with Jack. Before we played, we did a little bit of social “work” for the Tennis community by snow shoveling. We started out hitting against the ball machine and then finally played a set. I quickly raced to a 3-0 lead. Jack pulled it back to 3-2 and then I closed it 6-2.
There were some good rallies and we played some positive tennis. The warm-up against the ball machine helped me a lot as I grooved in on my shots. I dictated play with my Forehand. I don’t think I served that well but it wasn’t bad. I lost my serve once and managed to break Jack service except once.
I liked the way I hit forehand shots. I personally felt they had lot of spin and action on them (especially when I used western grip). One particular point really stood out for me. I hit an inside –in forehand that kicked up real high and I didn’t think was coming back. Somehow jack managed to put it back in play. I hit another forehand into the middle of court which kicked up very high and probably had lots of action and ended up winning the point. It’s that Topspin that makes the ball difficult to hit for opponents, especially if it lands around the baseline and skids off.
One of the key strategies against solid counter punchers like Jack /Ramon (and most S&V players) is to strike first. Once you let them control the point, you will end up running a lot and/ or make unforced errors while trying to come up with a low percentage winner. Usually when I play them I try to dictate play. If I start making some of those shots that puts them on defensive. If I don’t, I usually end up putting more pressure on myself and probably resort to Plan B (pushing) and Plan C (all out attack as I have nothing to lose at that point). Today it turned out to be a good strategy.
The more I play with Ball machine, the more I am convinced that I need one. That is one single option I believe can help me move to become a 4.5 player (I personally assess my current tennis game as 3.75-4.15 depending on the day). Before the Spring Tennis season warms up, I will get one. I am not sure how much tennis time I will have come Spring/Summer as I will have to balance tennis and time with my baby.
After our match, I watched the Local University women’s Tennis Team practice. I learned some interesting tips and Techniques. I spent about an hour taking some notes. There were about 7 players at the practice and I saw the coach working out some drills and concepts into them.
I am probably not going to play next Monday either (March 03). So I will not have lot of scores to post in my next few blogs. I will continue to post on General tennis, Badminton and workouts.
Monday, February 25, 2008
Thursday, February 21, 2008
Monday night Tennis (no Play) 02/18
I couldn’t play this week due to scheduling conflicts. I am not sure of next week either. My baby returns from her vacation on Monday evening. Depending on how much time is left after I get her home, I will make a last minute decision (if I slip to 0830, I may play anyway). I also have other commitments on March 17 and hence won’t be able to play.
Well, a few factors are preventing me from playing Monday tennis. I am almost there in terms of $$$ for a Ball machine. Some more savings would boost my chances greatly. Another reason is that Jack quit the ladder. Part of the fun is the Lunch time discussions that surround our matches, opponents, tactics, strategy and performance. Now that will be lacking, I don’t quite have the same interest. Finally I am almost near the allocated budget for Winter Tennis. So it’s partly financial and partly interest.
One thing that still keeps me motivated is that I have lot of unfinished business in the ladder. I didn’t make it into the top4 at 7 pm. Based on where my game is right now, only my serve can get me there i.e. to Serve really well and hold my games and hope to break the opponent on his serve. As you traverse up the ladder it becomes that much more difficult. There are people with good serves and good ground strokes and some of those match ups are not in my favor.
In other words, the top of the ladder consists of Strong 4.0/ Weak 4.5 players. Read the definitions here . Only my Serve and Forehand are at that level. My backhand is probably a 3.0. I need lots of practice (esp on backhand side) to make my game more consistent—hence the ball machine. I am very confident that after 5-10 sessions on a ball machine, I can pretty much take on anyone in the 4.0/4.5 space.
Confidence in one’s game is very important and practice will improve confidence. I am usually confident about my serve and forehand but not always sure on my backhand and definitely second guessing on volleys and etc. Hitting against ball machine should improve my backhand and slowly I may work on volleying aspect as well. It will be in my best interest to learn volleying as it can compliment a good serve.
I am continuing my work outs. I haven’t started weights yet. It is a little strange but whenever I do weights my performance in Tennis/Badminton takes a noticeable dip. Not sure why though. It is not like I am lifting huge weights. Need some more analysis. For now I wont start weights until I fully break from Tennis (My current scheduled last session is on Feb 25). I feel very good about my cardio. It’s almost like I picked from where I left off before my vacation. I am planning to further improve on this and come spring, I can focus on the game and not worry about fitness.
Badminton on 2/20 was good. Some great games and my cardio fitness are helping a lot. I am feeling lot better about my backhand. I definitely improved my net coverage of the game and able to finish few points at the net. I am focusing on delicate soft points when I play with opponents where I am hugely favored to win and it seems to be paying off when I play bigger and better opponents. I improved my backhand technique and have a better feel for it. Hopefully before the badminton season winds down (mid May) and Tennis season catches on, I have a better technique (having a ball machine wouldn’t hurt either).
Well, a few factors are preventing me from playing Monday tennis. I am almost there in terms of $$$ for a Ball machine. Some more savings would boost my chances greatly. Another reason is that Jack quit the ladder. Part of the fun is the Lunch time discussions that surround our matches, opponents, tactics, strategy and performance. Now that will be lacking, I don’t quite have the same interest. Finally I am almost near the allocated budget for Winter Tennis. So it’s partly financial and partly interest.
One thing that still keeps me motivated is that I have lot of unfinished business in the ladder. I didn’t make it into the top4 at 7 pm. Based on where my game is right now, only my serve can get me there i.e. to Serve really well and hold my games and hope to break the opponent on his serve. As you traverse up the ladder it becomes that much more difficult. There are people with good serves and good ground strokes and some of those match ups are not in my favor.
In other words, the top of the ladder consists of Strong 4.0/ Weak 4.5 players. Read the definitions here . Only my Serve and Forehand are at that level. My backhand is probably a 3.0. I need lots of practice (esp on backhand side) to make my game more consistent—hence the ball machine. I am very confident that after 5-10 sessions on a ball machine, I can pretty much take on anyone in the 4.0/4.5 space.
Confidence in one’s game is very important and practice will improve confidence. I am usually confident about my serve and forehand but not always sure on my backhand and definitely second guessing on volleys and etc. Hitting against ball machine should improve my backhand and slowly I may work on volleying aspect as well. It will be in my best interest to learn volleying as it can compliment a good serve.
I am continuing my work outs. I haven’t started weights yet. It is a little strange but whenever I do weights my performance in Tennis/Badminton takes a noticeable dip. Not sure why though. It is not like I am lifting huge weights. Need some more analysis. For now I wont start weights until I fully break from Tennis (My current scheduled last session is on Feb 25). I feel very good about my cardio. It’s almost like I picked from where I left off before my vacation. I am planning to further improve on this and come spring, I can focus on the game and not worry about fitness.
Badminton on 2/20 was good. Some great games and my cardio fitness are helping a lot. I am feeling lot better about my backhand. I definitely improved my net coverage of the game and able to finish few points at the net. I am focusing on delicate soft points when I play with opponents where I am hugely favored to win and it seems to be paying off when I play bigger and better opponents. I improved my backhand technique and have a better feel for it. Hopefully before the badminton season winds down (mid May) and Tennis season catches on, I have a better technique (having a ball machine wouldn’t hurt either).
Wednesday, February 13, 2008
SOA in Tennis
As an Architect in IT Industry, SOA (Service Oriented Architecture) is part and parcel of my daily work life. As I started reviewing my Tennis game recently, it now forms crux of my tennis game.
Welcome to “Service” Oriented Architecture in Tennis. Unlike in IT, where SOA offers multiple abilities (flexibility,expandability,maintainability,reusability, blah blah), In Tennis it makes ones game One dimensional. Just to be clear , SOA in tennis means “Serve oriented game”, in other words ones game is based on their Serve.
In the pro circuits, there are tons of players who built their game around their serve and were vastly successful. From a top 50 player like IvoKarlovic, John Isner, Slobodan zivizinovic to ex-world #1 like Goran IvaniSevic, Pete Sampras, and Boris Becker all used their Serve to reach the pinnacle of tennis.
They also have something else in common. They are great Serve and Volley players Ie their game plan is more or less simple. Serve well, expect a weak return, move into the net and close it with a volley. Even during rallies they try to seize the net position as quickly as they can by coming behind on a good approach shot (usually towards opponents back hand) and close it with a firm volley.
My game as it stands now consists of a serve and a forehand (Forget zip code,Not even in the same state code but if i have to look up a similarity in pro circuits, it will be Andy Roddick). I have a dependable serve (not always potent but doesn’t give away easy returns for opponents) and what I call as my dependable shot- forehand. Usually my game plan involves moving the opponent around with deep baseline shots until there is an opening to go for the winner. I am very comfortable at the baseline and enjoy the baseline rallies. There are two shots I particularly enjoy ; The Inside-in forehand à run around the back hand and hit a forehand down the line towards opponent right corner. The Inside-out forehandà a variation of the cross court forehand directed towards a right handed opponents backhand corner.
Needless to say it is very one dimensional baseline game. Even if I assume that I hit very good serves every single time my game is still one dimensional. The challenge I have is that I don’t have a good net game (or the soft touch needed at net) that can compliment a good serve and end the point quickly (not too mention the pressure it adds for an opponent returning the serve). For now all the opponent needs is to somehow get the serve in play (and most opponents are good at this) and from then on we are in a rally and it can be anybody’s point. I don’t have a good backhand (forget it- I don’t even have a passable backhand) that can help me to be aggressive from backhand side of the court.
My point is Service oriented game is bad for Tennis. One should have a well rounded all court game where one can rely on Forehand, backhand, counter punching, volleying to score points quickly. What we need is Agile Architecture.
I am hoping that I can quickly get a ball machine and hone my backhand and volleying while further improving on the consistency of the Forehand. Even a marginal improvement in backhand or Volleying can make a big difference to my game and results.
My friend Jack has quit the ladder playing his last session this last Monday. A powerful counter puncher with good hands at the net, he made a steady progress since last April when I first played him. He is playing a 4.0 game and there is no telling where his game would be if he can tweak his serve. As long as we both stay fit, we will still be playing in spring/summer though we wont be playing the same opponents.
My knee hasn’t fully healed but I am going to give a shot at today’s badminton (if it’s not cancelled due to snow). I may have to Baby sit next Monday in which case I have to skip Tennis. I will know more tomorrow. Otherwise based on the requests of my fans, I plan on playing one more session and give the fans another opportunity to say adieus for this winter.
Welcome to “Service” Oriented Architecture in Tennis. Unlike in IT, where SOA offers multiple abilities (flexibility,expandability,maintainability,reusability, blah blah), In Tennis it makes ones game One dimensional. Just to be clear , SOA in tennis means “Serve oriented game”, in other words ones game is based on their Serve.
In the pro circuits, there are tons of players who built their game around their serve and were vastly successful. From a top 50 player like IvoKarlovic, John Isner, Slobodan zivizinovic to ex-world #1 like Goran IvaniSevic, Pete Sampras, and Boris Becker all used their Serve to reach the pinnacle of tennis.
They also have something else in common. They are great Serve and Volley players Ie their game plan is more or less simple. Serve well, expect a weak return, move into the net and close it with a volley. Even during rallies they try to seize the net position as quickly as they can by coming behind on a good approach shot (usually towards opponents back hand) and close it with a firm volley.
My game as it stands now consists of a serve and a forehand (Forget zip code,Not even in the same state code but if i have to look up a similarity in pro circuits, it will be Andy Roddick). I have a dependable serve (not always potent but doesn’t give away easy returns for opponents) and what I call as my dependable shot- forehand. Usually my game plan involves moving the opponent around with deep baseline shots until there is an opening to go for the winner. I am very comfortable at the baseline and enjoy the baseline rallies. There are two shots I particularly enjoy ; The Inside-in forehand à run around the back hand and hit a forehand down the line towards opponent right corner. The Inside-out forehandà a variation of the cross court forehand directed towards a right handed opponents backhand corner.
Needless to say it is very one dimensional baseline game. Even if I assume that I hit very good serves every single time my game is still one dimensional. The challenge I have is that I don’t have a good net game (or the soft touch needed at net) that can compliment a good serve and end the point quickly (not too mention the pressure it adds for an opponent returning the serve). For now all the opponent needs is to somehow get the serve in play (and most opponents are good at this) and from then on we are in a rally and it can be anybody’s point. I don’t have a good backhand (forget it- I don’t even have a passable backhand) that can help me to be aggressive from backhand side of the court.
My point is Service oriented game is bad for Tennis. One should have a well rounded all court game where one can rely on Forehand, backhand, counter punching, volleying to score points quickly. What we need is Agile Architecture.
I am hoping that I can quickly get a ball machine and hone my backhand and volleying while further improving on the consistency of the Forehand. Even a marginal improvement in backhand or Volleying can make a big difference to my game and results.
My friend Jack has quit the ladder playing his last session this last Monday. A powerful counter puncher with good hands at the net, he made a steady progress since last April when I first played him. He is playing a 4.0 game and there is no telling where his game would be if he can tweak his serve. As long as we both stay fit, we will still be playing in spring/summer though we wont be playing the same opponents.
My knee hasn’t fully healed but I am going to give a shot at today’s badminton (if it’s not cancelled due to snow). I may have to Baby sit next Monday in which case I have to skip Tennis. I will know more tomorrow. Otherwise based on the requests of my fans, I plan on playing one more session and give the fans another opportunity to say adieus for this winter.
Tuesday, February 12, 2008
Monday Night Tennis Feb 11
Yesterday was my first outing at 7 pm this year[I played at 7 pm before i went on vacation]. As you move up the ladder you will have to play more consistent and quality players. I only played against one of them (Bob) before and was really nervous. For my own good I wanted to play well and show myself that my 7pm appearance is no flash in the pan. From a timing perspective, I don’t like the 7pm starts. I usually start from my work around 1730 hrs and reach home around 1800 hrs (6 pm). In order to make it to 7pm game, I have to start by 1840 (0640 pm). This doesn’t give me enough time to finish my chores at home/play with my daughter/talk to my wife.
I reached barely in time for the match. There was a slight mix up of courts until the organizer arrived and sorted it out. My first match is with Bob. I played him before and I know that his strokes are consistent; he can volley well and has no obvious weakness that I can exploit. I lost to him 5-2 the last time we played. He won the toss and elected to receive. I started the serve and fell behind 0-30 as I couldn’t find good rhythm. I loosened up a bit and started hitting the spots better. Courtesy of 2 aces I was able to win the first game. I couldn’t get any read on his serve and we stayed 1-1. The entire match went with serve from then on. He managed to break my serve once as I had a very bad service game and one line call and one net chord didn’t go my way. I had two break points on his game twice but didn’t convert. The final score is 4-3. I served really well (7 aces) and used my forehand very well. I even managed to hit some good backhands with proper technique.
Next up is Rich. I never played him before but glanced at his game as he was in the next court. At the looks of it, he looked more formidable than my first opponent. He won the toss and served first. He has a very deceptive serve. It is a variation of slice serve but also has a side spin component (like kick serve). He varied his pace. One serve would be blazing fast followed by what I call as Dink serve with spin. His ground strokes have lot of pace (and weight) in them but are not as consistent as some of my other opponents as he isn’t a great mover. However he has a very good down the line forehand shot.
As we started the match, His serve didn’t trouble me that much and I managed to return well. Then I used my forehand to dictate the play. I hit two inside-in forehands (quickly turning to be one of my favorite shots) winners and followed it up with a cross court forehand winner to break his serve and go 1-0 up. I started the serve and he was up 0-30. I calmed down and hit some good serves to hold the game. From this point on I didn’t have trouble holding my serve. I got a few break points on his serve but didn’t convert them. I won the match 4-3.
Last match of the day is with Luciano. I assumed a few things as this guy has been a constant at 7 pm ladder. I was very surprised by what I saw. He has a passable serve that has little action and keeps low. He basically directs the ball (pushes/punches) on ground strokes to the corners. In my opinion he is a polished counter puncher/pusher. I lost the toss and he elected to serve. It took me the entire first game to get used to his style. He went up 1-0. I started the serve but fell behind quickly to 30-40. Then I took a gamble and went big on serve. This is probably one of the best clutch serves I have hit in the recent times. From the Ad court I went to his backhand. He could only stare as the ball whizzed past him and brought the scores to deuce. Another hard serve into the body and I pulled out the game to make the scores even at 1-1. I held my serve comfortably from then on hugely frustrating him. I went hard on his serve and broke him immediately. Basically my game matches up very well with his. His style is very susceptible to Hard pace and topspin as merely blocking them wouldn’t be adequate to keep the ball in play. Besides he needs to work the ball towards the corners to have any sort of advantage. I was hitting some huge forehands towards the centre of the court and he struggled to find angles. He tried drop shots etc etc. Though I won the match 4-3, it could easily have been 5-2.
I finished with 11 points just one point shy of the leader (bob who won 12 points and moves further up). Though I am a little disappointed about that I am glad that I am staying at 7 pm (the other two guys won 9 (Luciano) and 10 points respectively) and helping my confidence. I also hurt my right knee a bit during my last match.
As I ponder over the past two weeks and contrast them to my game prior to my vacation, I don’t see much difference. I haven’t improved much though the stats/results seem to be different. It’s just that my serve is working now and that is making the other parts of my game look good. I am holding my serve easily it automatically puts pressure on opponents serve. They are trying to be aggressive on their game and that is resulting in unforced errors. The game is now played against my forehand giving me a better chance.
I got some remarks on my serve and it appears like most of my opponents are concerned/worried about my serve (and to some extent forehand). I felt happy (and a bit confident) as I learned how to serve all by myself and all the practice/hard work I put in the past came good (even though it may not last forever).
If I do play next week, I am going to play with Ramon (who moved up from 0830) and Rich for sure. I haven’t made a decision on whether to play next week. I am serious about the ball machine (and already started looking in ebay and etc) and I can use some extra $$$. I may be able to save some money by not playing the ladder (at 20$ a session, it isn’t cheap). I am planning to make the decision by Wednesday. Initially I am planning on skipping couple of weeks and depending on how I feel, I will probably call it a season.
I met a new player who joined the league yesterday. He lives in Rocky hill and appeared to have a good passion for the game (though not sure what his playing level is). As of now we have about 4-5 players—enough for a spring/summer ladder which myself and jack are planning to start.
I reached barely in time for the match. There was a slight mix up of courts until the organizer arrived and sorted it out. My first match is with Bob. I played him before and I know that his strokes are consistent; he can volley well and has no obvious weakness that I can exploit. I lost to him 5-2 the last time we played. He won the toss and elected to receive. I started the serve and fell behind 0-30 as I couldn’t find good rhythm. I loosened up a bit and started hitting the spots better. Courtesy of 2 aces I was able to win the first game. I couldn’t get any read on his serve and we stayed 1-1. The entire match went with serve from then on. He managed to break my serve once as I had a very bad service game and one line call and one net chord didn’t go my way. I had two break points on his game twice but didn’t convert. The final score is 4-3. I served really well (7 aces) and used my forehand very well. I even managed to hit some good backhands with proper technique.
Next up is Rich. I never played him before but glanced at his game as he was in the next court. At the looks of it, he looked more formidable than my first opponent. He won the toss and served first. He has a very deceptive serve. It is a variation of slice serve but also has a side spin component (like kick serve). He varied his pace. One serve would be blazing fast followed by what I call as Dink serve with spin. His ground strokes have lot of pace (and weight) in them but are not as consistent as some of my other opponents as he isn’t a great mover. However he has a very good down the line forehand shot.
As we started the match, His serve didn’t trouble me that much and I managed to return well. Then I used my forehand to dictate the play. I hit two inside-in forehands (quickly turning to be one of my favorite shots) winners and followed it up with a cross court forehand winner to break his serve and go 1-0 up. I started the serve and he was up 0-30. I calmed down and hit some good serves to hold the game. From this point on I didn’t have trouble holding my serve. I got a few break points on his serve but didn’t convert them. I won the match 4-3.
Last match of the day is with Luciano. I assumed a few things as this guy has been a constant at 7 pm ladder. I was very surprised by what I saw. He has a passable serve that has little action and keeps low. He basically directs the ball (pushes/punches) on ground strokes to the corners. In my opinion he is a polished counter puncher/pusher. I lost the toss and he elected to serve. It took me the entire first game to get used to his style. He went up 1-0. I started the serve but fell behind quickly to 30-40. Then I took a gamble and went big on serve. This is probably one of the best clutch serves I have hit in the recent times. From the Ad court I went to his backhand. He could only stare as the ball whizzed past him and brought the scores to deuce. Another hard serve into the body and I pulled out the game to make the scores even at 1-1. I held my serve comfortably from then on hugely frustrating him. I went hard on his serve and broke him immediately. Basically my game matches up very well with his. His style is very susceptible to Hard pace and topspin as merely blocking them wouldn’t be adequate to keep the ball in play. Besides he needs to work the ball towards the corners to have any sort of advantage. I was hitting some huge forehands towards the centre of the court and he struggled to find angles. He tried drop shots etc etc. Though I won the match 4-3, it could easily have been 5-2.
I finished with 11 points just one point shy of the leader (bob who won 12 points and moves further up). Though I am a little disappointed about that I am glad that I am staying at 7 pm (the other two guys won 9 (Luciano) and 10 points respectively) and helping my confidence. I also hurt my right knee a bit during my last match.
As I ponder over the past two weeks and contrast them to my game prior to my vacation, I don’t see much difference. I haven’t improved much though the stats/results seem to be different. It’s just that my serve is working now and that is making the other parts of my game look good. I am holding my serve easily it automatically puts pressure on opponents serve. They are trying to be aggressive on their game and that is resulting in unforced errors. The game is now played against my forehand giving me a better chance.
I got some remarks on my serve and it appears like most of my opponents are concerned/worried about my serve (and to some extent forehand). I felt happy (and a bit confident) as I learned how to serve all by myself and all the practice/hard work I put in the past came good (even though it may not last forever).
If I do play next week, I am going to play with Ramon (who moved up from 0830) and Rich for sure. I haven’t made a decision on whether to play next week. I am serious about the ball machine (and already started looking in ebay and etc) and I can use some extra $$$. I may be able to save some money by not playing the ladder (at 20$ a session, it isn’t cheap). I am planning to make the decision by Wednesday. Initially I am planning on skipping couple of weeks and depending on how I feel, I will probably call it a season.
I met a new player who joined the league yesterday. He lives in Rocky hill and appeared to have a good passion for the game (though not sure what his playing level is). As of now we have about 4-5 players—enough for a spring/summer ladder which myself and jack are planning to start.
Friday, February 8, 2008
Monday night Tennis Feb 04 and Badminton Feb 06
On Sunday, myself and jack against his new ball machine. It was a great exercise and allowed me to groove in on my strokes. I am almost certain to get a ball machine myself. I saved up some money and boosted that pool rather unexpectedly as I won a super bowl related bet.
This is probably one of the best outings I had from a results perspective. I won 14 games and lost 7. I don’t have a winning record against these players .I never won against Ramon and I never won against Jack in the Monday night ladder. Warren whipped me pretty good the last two times I played him.
After a short warm up with Jack, I proceeded to the first match against Ramon. I won the toss but elected to receive (I had a horrible serving time on Sunday while practicing with jack). I was quickly 0-30 up and soon it was 15-45 in my favor with two break points. I couldn’t convert and he was up 1-0. I started serving rather nervously and went 30-0 up due to two unforced errors from my opponent. That one ace I hit at 30-0, gave me the confidence that my serve is ON. I held my serve easily for rest of the match and also managed to put pressure on his serve by repeatedly attacking his second serve and kept the rallies to his forehands. I didn’t convert break points on my opponents until the last game. I broke him and finally managed to get my first Victory against him. 4-3. tactically I made the right choice in keeping the match between our forehands.
I played Jack in the second match up. I lost the toss and he elected to serve. No surprises here as we both played each other so many times and also coach each other. Even the match patterns were same until we tied at 2-2. Though I went aggressive initially I had to turn it down because he is more consistent. I broke his serve at 2-2 to go up 3-2 on his unforced errors. As it happened many times in the past in our games against each other, a break doesn’t mean much as usually the other person would break back within a game or two. I didn’t want to lose this advantage and went slightly aggressive on the serve. It turned out to be a very good service game and I went up 4-2. I came close to breaking him again in the last game of the match but he played well to keep it real close at 4-3.
Last match up of the day is with Warren. I lost to him very badly last two times and I really needed a good show. I lost the toss and he elected to serve. My game plan is very simple. Keep the ball to his forehand and avoid his powerful backhand that is hard to read. I just did that and I broke every game of his except for one (his 3 service game). I served very well and never even had a break point on mine. I closed the match 6-1. I did observe a few things on the other side of the court. He had lot of trouble against my serves and was frustrated as he couldn’t get the ball into play on my serve. He got so impatient with my Crosscourt forehand rallies that he tried to run around his forehands and hit Backhand rallies. Now that’s a match up I enjoy--> My cross court forehand against his Backhand on his forehand corner. I will take that any time.
So I ended up with 14 points and very likely to move again into the 7 pm league. I am glad to put some wins against these quality players.
I will probably have one or two more sessions in the Tennis ladder before I close the winter tennis season and break until warm spring weather. With any luck, the break wont be more than 5-6 weeks.
The ladder, though helping my tennis, is expensive. I am thinking that weather should improve sufficiently by mid April and may be able to catch some lucky breaks (like last Sunday) where the temperatures are above mid 50’s from Early April. I will still continue with my Badminton season and Gym work outs and that should keep me in shape. I may throw in a tennis session at the ladder as a substitute if I am missing tennis too much. I am also looking for an economical ball machine (like Jack’s). It would be a good addition to my game.
Latest – as expected, I made it back into 7 pm group. I only played against one (bob) in the next Monday’s draw. So it will be interesting. Unless I chose to play one more session, this will probably be the last match up for the season. In total I played around 8 sessions (excl the 1 week where I sub’d) and I spent 3 sessions at 7 pm and 3 at top of 0830 and 2 sessions at the bottom of 0830. That is a very good mix of playing styles and standards.
Not a lot to write on Badminton session. I am getting back my game. I won some challenging match ups where most expected that i would lose. My smash isnt working for some reason. need to do some more work on it. Back hand is getting better.
This is probably one of the best outings I had from a results perspective. I won 14 games and lost 7. I don’t have a winning record against these players .I never won against Ramon and I never won against Jack in the Monday night ladder. Warren whipped me pretty good the last two times I played him.
After a short warm up with Jack, I proceeded to the first match against Ramon. I won the toss but elected to receive (I had a horrible serving time on Sunday while practicing with jack). I was quickly 0-30 up and soon it was 15-45 in my favor with two break points. I couldn’t convert and he was up 1-0. I started serving rather nervously and went 30-0 up due to two unforced errors from my opponent. That one ace I hit at 30-0, gave me the confidence that my serve is ON. I held my serve easily for rest of the match and also managed to put pressure on his serve by repeatedly attacking his second serve and kept the rallies to his forehands. I didn’t convert break points on my opponents until the last game. I broke him and finally managed to get my first Victory against him. 4-3. tactically I made the right choice in keeping the match between our forehands.
I played Jack in the second match up. I lost the toss and he elected to serve. No surprises here as we both played each other so many times and also coach each other. Even the match patterns were same until we tied at 2-2. Though I went aggressive initially I had to turn it down because he is more consistent. I broke his serve at 2-2 to go up 3-2 on his unforced errors. As it happened many times in the past in our games against each other, a break doesn’t mean much as usually the other person would break back within a game or two. I didn’t want to lose this advantage and went slightly aggressive on the serve. It turned out to be a very good service game and I went up 4-2. I came close to breaking him again in the last game of the match but he played well to keep it real close at 4-3.
Last match up of the day is with Warren. I lost to him very badly last two times and I really needed a good show. I lost the toss and he elected to serve. My game plan is very simple. Keep the ball to his forehand and avoid his powerful backhand that is hard to read. I just did that and I broke every game of his except for one (his 3 service game). I served very well and never even had a break point on mine. I closed the match 6-1. I did observe a few things on the other side of the court. He had lot of trouble against my serves and was frustrated as he couldn’t get the ball into play on my serve. He got so impatient with my Crosscourt forehand rallies that he tried to run around his forehands and hit Backhand rallies. Now that’s a match up I enjoy--> My cross court forehand against his Backhand on his forehand corner. I will take that any time.
So I ended up with 14 points and very likely to move again into the 7 pm league. I am glad to put some wins against these quality players.
I will probably have one or two more sessions in the Tennis ladder before I close the winter tennis season and break until warm spring weather. With any luck, the break wont be more than 5-6 weeks.
The ladder, though helping my tennis, is expensive. I am thinking that weather should improve sufficiently by mid April and may be able to catch some lucky breaks (like last Sunday) where the temperatures are above mid 50’s from Early April. I will still continue with my Badminton season and Gym work outs and that should keep me in shape. I may throw in a tennis session at the ladder as a substitute if I am missing tennis too much. I am also looking for an economical ball machine (like Jack’s). It would be a good addition to my game.
Latest – as expected, I made it back into 7 pm group. I only played against one (bob) in the next Monday’s draw. So it will be interesting. Unless I chose to play one more session, this will probably be the last match up for the season. In total I played around 8 sessions (excl the 1 week where I sub’d) and I spent 3 sessions at 7 pm and 3 at top of 0830 and 2 sessions at the bottom of 0830. That is a very good mix of playing styles and standards.
Not a lot to write on Badminton session. I am getting back my game. I won some challenging match ups where most expected that i would lose. My smash isnt working for some reason. need to do some more work on it. Back hand is getting better.
Friday, February 1, 2008
Badminton 30 Jan and Tennis Feb 04 Preview
With not much to write about Tennis on Monday, I wasn’t expecting any different results at Badminton. In summary it was a mixed bag. Still jetlagged and tired, I started off Ok, went south in between and recovered some what towards the end. I didn’t have any offense and people jumped all over on my serve. They also exploited my back hand. I wasn’t getting any power on my smashes and pretty much struggled to keep up. Unlike my Tennis game, which is still in development, my badminton game is more formed and reliable and I expect that within a week or two, normality will be restored.
The draw for next Monday’s tennis is out. Surprise – I am still in the top bracket of 0830. Not sure how I managed to stay afloat despite winning a low number of games. Probably other results went in my favor.
Here is the challenging part. My next weeks draw is tough. I play Ramon, Warren and Jack and I have a loosing record against all of them (* I won initially against Warren but off late he is dominating. I had an edge against Jack during last summer but that’s history and I am yet to win against him in the ladder). I want to correct my record at least against one of them. One needs loads of stamina and fire power to stay with Ramon and Jack as both of them can play solid defense and attack very well. Jack is a quick mover and that adds to the challenge. If I am consistent, I can probably take out Warren but he is on a hot streak and has a great disguise on his backhand. It’s tough to tell if he is going cross court or Down the Line.
Some part of those losses is due to me trying to go on the offensive instead of letting the game play itself out. I sure can win points by playing defense and waiting for an unforced error from the opponent. However it is more satisfying for me to win points by hitting an inside-in forehand winner or by power serving. It’s just that I don’t have that much consistency in that type of game yet. So many times I reach 40-0 on my serve or break my opponent to get to that score line and then falter handing the game to my opponent. I should start playing smart tennis mixing up offense with defense.
I haven’t done anything in fitness area for the past 5 weeks. I am planning on working out Friday and Sunday (may be Saturday as well) and try to get to fitness ways.
I am relishing the challenge and despite some factors (fitness, match practice) that aren’t optimum as I would like, I think I can win decent number of games on Monday night.
The draw for next Monday’s tennis is out. Surprise – I am still in the top bracket of 0830. Not sure how I managed to stay afloat despite winning a low number of games. Probably other results went in my favor.
Here is the challenging part. My next weeks draw is tough. I play Ramon, Warren and Jack and I have a loosing record against all of them (* I won initially against Warren but off late he is dominating. I had an edge against Jack during last summer but that’s history and I am yet to win against him in the ladder). I want to correct my record at least against one of them. One needs loads of stamina and fire power to stay with Ramon and Jack as both of them can play solid defense and attack very well. Jack is a quick mover and that adds to the challenge. If I am consistent, I can probably take out Warren but he is on a hot streak and has a great disguise on his backhand. It’s tough to tell if he is going cross court or Down the Line.
Some part of those losses is due to me trying to go on the offensive instead of letting the game play itself out. I sure can win points by playing defense and waiting for an unforced error from the opponent. However it is more satisfying for me to win points by hitting an inside-in forehand winner or by power serving. It’s just that I don’t have that much consistency in that type of game yet. So many times I reach 40-0 on my serve or break my opponent to get to that score line and then falter handing the game to my opponent. I should start playing smart tennis mixing up offense with defense.
I haven’t done anything in fitness area for the past 5 weeks. I am planning on working out Friday and Sunday (may be Saturday as well) and try to get to fitness ways.
I am relishing the challenge and despite some factors (fitness, match practice) that aren’t optimum as I would like, I think I can win decent number of games on Monday night.
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